Problem charging House Batteries
My 2004 Ford E-350 V10 Class C has developed a problem with charging the house batteries. I have a Xantrex Battery monitor. My house batteries are 2 Group 24 batteries brand new, 2 weeks old. becaus...
Forum Discussion
You have too many things NOT charging the batteries to pin the tail on a specific component donkey. Inverter not charging, vehicle not charging at times. There has to be a common denominator point, meaning a junction, a connection from ONLY the charging circuit that is causing your haunting...
Find out WHERE the inverter and the chassis charging system join up. A junction. A connection. Then start looking from THERE to the battery posts for a loose or corroded connection. usually an inverter shares draw and charge on the same connections so something is weird. Whatever. The path from your charging circuit to your batteries has been compromised. Trust nothing to appearances, trust everything to voltage drop.
Select volts on meter.
Turn on ANY charging source when batteries are low
You are going to take the handheld meter on a tour.
Place positive probe of meter on a wire or conductor
Place negative lead on same wire but downstream past several connections.
DO NOT place negative lead on the ground circuit
Place the negative lead downstream on the same positive wire
Yes, it will read voltage if there is a problem found
And AGAIN make sure the meter is telling you WHOLE VOLTS not millivolts.
Read the numbers on the meter. Make SURE the reading you see is WHOLE volts.
Are you seeing a one volt drop or more?
BETWEEN the two probes is a problem. Clean, shine, tighten and re-check
You are not done.
The whole circuit has to be checked this way
All the way to the battery lead posts not merely the battery lugs or terminals
But again the battery charge must be low when you do this.
This is so a large amount of amperage SHOULD be flowing but isn't
Take your time
The NEGATIVE circuit has to be checked EXACTLY the same way
Remember, the charger or the alternator can be used to do this
Hope This Helps
Find out WHERE the inverter and the chassis charging system join up. A junction. A connection. Then start looking from THERE to the battery posts for a loose or corroded connection. usually an inverter shares draw and charge on the same connections so something is weird. Whatever. The path from your charging circuit to your batteries has been compromised. Trust nothing to appearances, trust everything to voltage drop.
Select volts on meter.
Turn on ANY charging source when batteries are low
You are going to take the handheld meter on a tour.
Place positive probe of meter on a wire or conductor
Place negative lead on same wire but downstream past several connections.
DO NOT place negative lead on the ground circuit
Place the negative lead downstream on the same positive wire
Yes, it will read voltage if there is a problem found
And AGAIN make sure the meter is telling you WHOLE VOLTS not millivolts.
Read the numbers on the meter. Make SURE the reading you see is WHOLE volts.
Are you seeing a one volt drop or more?
BETWEEN the two probes is a problem. Clean, shine, tighten and re-check
You are not done.
The whole circuit has to be checked this way
All the way to the battery lead posts not merely the battery lugs or terminals
But again the battery charge must be low when you do this.
This is so a large amount of amperage SHOULD be flowing but isn't
Take your time
The NEGATIVE circuit has to be checked EXACTLY the same way
Remember, the charger or the alternator can be used to do this
Hope This Helps
